Head Girl Speech

Today I’ll speak about Some of the reasons for which I believe are the reasons for me to be the head girl. Now, will you want a Head girl who is not enthusiastic or dull not taking an interest in making our school reach it’s best. No, none of them will like. I believe our school is like a tree; we are all different parts of this tree, for example – The teachers are like the roots, which supplement us with knowledge and help us to grow. If I was Head Girl, I would be like the manure which the gardener spreads to enrich the ground, just that little added extra can make a big difference. I realise that, being Head Girl isn’t about being better than anyone else. It’s about having the trust of the student body to organise and represent them with honesty and enthusiasm, whenever called upon. If I was chosen as Head Girl, I would want to represent you, as well as inspire you. I’m friendly and approachable, so if anything is troubling you about school life, or if you have a really good idea, you won’t need to keep it to yourself. I want the student’s voice, that’s your voice, heard at IHS. I know being Head girl is a big responsibility. If given the opportunity, I would take that responsibility seriously, and be a respectable role model for all specially the younger ones of our school. As a team leader, I would want to encourage all of them to e at their best. A challenge and team work both these I do enjoy and I see this as essential to be Head Girl. To pay back something to school is another reason. Over my time at IHS I have taken part in many School activities and events,etc. . Now is my chance to give something back. To serve both pupils and staff is a thing I’d like to do. And yes if am choosen as one I assure you that I’ll put in my best efforts for my school.

Women’s Judo Debate

Women's Judo My dear fellow judos, martial arts practitioners and sports women, l, Gamma Gibbons, am delighted you have joined me today to unravel the nauseating, adverse light that has been shown upon women's Judo recently. After, having unfortunately been exposed to an atrocity of a biased article revolved around yours truly, I felt compelled to express my rage and dismay towards the sexist, ignorant writer behind these fabricated words, Andrew M Brown. Ladies, who is he to tell us which sports are socially acceptable to practice?Does he have the right to make sexist remarks bout our careers, when he himself, has spent time In a mental ward? Mr.. Brown, your article creates the wrong assessment of the beautifully orchestrated sport of women's judo. In your absurd article, you have displayed forms of incredibly offensive sexism, relating to my sport. The showcasing of your old fashioned opinions towards women being dominant in a strong sport has infuriated me. Your lack of understan ding and knowledge for female athletes participating In any sport, only make you look thick and sexist.Being a Judo myself, I have first hand experience of he sport, which puts me in a respectable position to inform that your accusations circling the sport is indeed, false. I apologize for my inconsiderate behavior, a Judo Mr.. Brown, is someone who practices Judo as a sport, male or female. Clearly from your fictional lies mentioned in your article you have no significant knowledge of the sport let alone the names of Its professional practitioners.I am not exactly sure how he could have the tremendous talent of successfully enraging the entire sports community from Just the insensitive, foul, sexist language used in the title of your written piece. The title – a few words in length and Mr.. Brown has already showcased his hidden talent of triggering the anger in a group of female athletes in just one click of the publish button. His disregard towards not only the sport but I ts athletes have immediately given the text a very condescending and patrolling voice as narrator, referring to Judos as â€Å"girls†.I'll have It known to you Mr.. Brown, that the entire female Olympic judo team includes adults ages 26 and above. He must have been blinded by the â€Å"disturbing† sight of a popular Olympic event that consists of watching â€Å"girls beat each other up†. If he is so emotionally â€Å"unsettled† by watching a match, we're happy to direct him back to his soap operas at home. HIS referral to the sport using what I consider street slang Infuriates me as the implication that no skill or training is required in order to participate in the sport.His low class view sickens me, furthering my disgust when he compares my match between my opponents as â€Å"two drunken women bashing ten bells out of each other†. How dare he dishonor this highly respected Olympic sport? He is a writer not a sports critic, so a piece of advice f or Mr.. Brown, stick to your own career. We do not â€Å"beat† or Have some respect for the commitment and strength it takes to hold a sport like judo. Additionally, I find it incredible that he can assert that he â€Å"probably sound appallingly sexist†.He has predicted his own criticism, suggesting the fact that he is fully aware that his discriminative mind is unsuitable for expressing his concern over a female sport, that's better known for its male practitioners. His condescending tone sounds as if he assumes that everyone will understand his reasoning. Newsflash Mr.. Brown, we are not so easily fooled by your attempt to evoke a family man status for yourself n order to counterbalance and deflect the controversy you caused. Anecdotes about his daughters have made me wonder, what if he had sons? Would his views be the same?He is only trying to step into the role of a respectable man to dodge the criticism he would receive; his literacy devices did not have its effe cts on us though right, ladies? Does he really call himself a writer? His opinion is old- fashioned portraying women as the weaker, inferior people in this society, describing our â€Å"soft limbs battered black and blue with bruises† after a match. We are a lot stronger than you think Mr.. Brown, we can handle a few bruises and scratches but not in any way are our limbs any softer than your office restrained limbs.In conclusion, as I have ferociously argued against Mr.. Brown's fabricated Judgments on a highly honorable Olympic sport, my opinions and feeling lie obvious. I am extremely appalled and repulsed by his sexist views and ignorant voice regarding not only me but also my fellow Judos and many other female athletes. I hope that I have conveyed my message across that women's Judo is far more skill related and respectable than what meets a washed up, sexist writer's eyes.

What is Rebranding?

What is Rebranding? Rebranding  is the creation of a new name, term, symbol, design, or combination thereof for an established brand with the intention of developing a differentiated (new) position in the mind of stakeholders and competitors. This may involve radical changes to the brand's logo, brand name, image,  marketing strategy, and  advertising  themes. These changes are typically aimed at the  repositioning of the brand/company, sometimes in an attempt to distance itself from certain negative connotations of the previous branding, or to move the brand  upmarket.However, the main reason for a re-brand is to communicate a new message for a company, something that has evolved, or the ‘new board of directors’ wish to communicate. Reasons for Rebranding Proactive Rebranding: Sometimes a company sees a reason to rebrand to seize an opportunity or thwart potential threats in the future. Proactive rebranding might happen in the following situations: * Predict ed Growth: When a company is preparing for expected growth, particularly international growth, it might rebrand products and services into a consolidated brand. This is often done for consistency and to save money over time.This type of rebranding is also done when a company simply needs to create a greater sense of brand unity across its business. * New Line of Business or Market: When a company enters into a new line of business or market that is not cohesive to the existing brand identity, a rebranding might be in order. * New Audience: When a company wants to appeal to a new audience, a rebranding might be necessary. Keep in mind, the rebranding might not require an actual name or logo change. * Relevancy: When a company realizes its brand is losing relevancy in consumers’ minds, it might be time to rebrand.The Yellow Pages rebranding is a perfect example. With the use of printed Yellow Pages directories declining, Yellow Pages rebranded to YP and began to focus more atte ntion on the digital space making it significantly more relevant. Reactive Rebranding: Companies could also rebrand in reaction to an event that is so significant that the existing brand must be changed. For example, reactive rebranding might happen in situations like the ones listed below: * Merger or Acquisition: When companies merge or acquire other companies, rebranding is often required. Legal Issues: There are a number of different legal issues that could cause a company to rebrand. Trademarks are often at the root of these rebranding examples. Hence, it is imperative to conduct an exhaustive trademark search and obtain the trademark rights to your brand name before you launch it. * Competitive Influences: Sometimes a company’s competitors’ activities can be the catalyst to a rebranding. When a competitor renders your brand useless or dated, a rebranding could help you regain a foothold in your market and give you the facelift you need to effectively strike back. Negative Publicity: When the image of the corporate or the brand has been tarnished by a sudden happening or more so, a crisis that has arisen, companies adopt a rebranding marketing strategy. The mistakes when while rebranding 1. Do not rely only on history: Rebranding well means staying relevant. Assumptions made when the brand was established may no longer hold true. Analyze changes in target markets when exploring opportunities for brand expansion, repositioning and revitalization.One must try and evaluate current market conditions before finalizing a rebranding exercise for the brand. However, one must ensure that the core offering is in line with the initial offering, the essence could be the differentiator. 2. Thinking the brand is the logo, stationery or corporate colors: The brand not only encompasses these elements, but also customer perception and experience to quality, the overall look and feel of the brand, customer care, retail and web environments, the tone and voice of communications, and more.One must ensure that the new image, thus to be communicated, touches upon all the aspects of the brand. 3. Navigating without a plan: Effective rebrands rely on a creative brief to keep everyone focused as the project progresses. Include sections for a situation analysis, objectives, target markets, budget and resources, timeframe, point person, known parameters, approval structure, stakeholders and metrics for assessing results. 4.Refusing to hire a branding consultant without industry experience: It’s ok to consider an agency that hasn’t worked in your specific industry before. Sometimes it is ideal – especially if you’re serious about a turnaround. Smart companies recognize the value of a fresh perspective. 5. Not leveraging existing brand equity and goodwill. Dismissing brand equity when rebranding alienates established customers, while unnecessary overhauls can irreparably damage a brand’s perception.Consider the n eeds and mindset of the target market carefully before digging into the process. Sometimes a small evolution – or a new coat of paint – is all that’s needed to rejuvenate and make a brand relevant. 6. Not trying on your customer’s shoes. Simply calling your own 800-number or receptionist may reveal challenges customers face and inform your rebranding strategy. Take the time to navigate your own website, buy your products and return something. Better yet, ask a friend or family member to do so and learn from their experiences

Business Plan Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Business Plan - Term Paper Example Other products include the production of irrigation equipments, Co2 detectors as well as bottles. Eco plastic and mould company concentrates in the manufacture of plastic products. It has been in operation in Taiwan for the lasts 12 years. In developing this business plan, the company wishes to introduce a new production unit. Recent technological advancement has ensured that manufactures of plastic use materials economically. Therefore, Eco- plastic and Mould Company provides new plastic containers that replace traditional metal containers. For the last 50 years, metallic containers have been important feature in industries. However, metallic containers are prone rust, require painting, and are difficult to recycle. With this in mind, the company provides drums with same structural strength but of plastic material (Luo, 2014). On the other hand, plastics have an ability to take various shapes through molding. Since plastic products are rust, proof, able to stand diverse climatic conditions, their use in Taiwan captures a wide market. In Taiwan, plastic products have gained acceptance with diverse consumers. The company uses advanced engineering on polymer to produce high impact materials, long lasting materials. Such engineering advances have made it necessary for the production of industrial drum products. The company enjoys a market opportunity for recycling plastic products. Taiwan’s growing population provides great market opportunity for Econ plastic and Mould Company. On the other hand, the greater Asian market provides a wide market opportunity for the company (Miltenburg, 2005). In terms of competition, Formosa Plastic corp. probably is the most competitive organization in the region. Eco plastic and Mould Company operate in Taiwan and within the Asian region. The company began its operations over 10 years ago. It specializes in producing quality plastic products as well as plastic

Mng Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mng - Essay Example Specialisation is the first criterion that is to be taken into account in the case of Bentley University. Based on its organisation structure, it shows that the tasks are subdivided into separate jobs. It is important to consider that in organisation theory, an extensive specialisation will allow employees to perform only a narrow range of tasks (Daft 16). At the top level next to the President and the executive assistant, Bentley is composed of seven operating divisions namely: business and finance, information services and operations, enrolment management, advancement, student affairs, marketing and communications and academic affairs. The university organises these divisions under the direct supervision of the President. If the office of the President will employ all the functions involved in the seven divisions, the entire university will eventually not work at its best considering the point that it has to do multi-tasking or perform a narrow range of tasks. Such situation will n ot allow any chance for the appropriate division of labour in order to optimise the capacity of the university to provide a high quality and standard service offering. In other words, specialisation is viewed to exist in the case of Bentley’s organisational structure, considering that it has subdivided the operations into seven divisions. It is however noted that the first and second divisions are under the direct control of the Vice President for Administration and Finance. Business and finance and the information services and operations are two divisions reporting directly to the VP for Administration and Finance. It makes sense that the business and finance department should be directly reporting to the office of the Vice President for Administration and Finance. It even makes sense that the information services and operations will also have to do the same. The reason is straightforward. The

Beyond the Need for a House Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Beyond the Need for a House - Essay Example From these numerous studies, "I'm Tired of Being a Slave to the Church Floor" by John Stackhouse, "The Homeless: Are We Part of the Problem" by Jack Layton, "Life on the Streets" by Thomas O'Reilly Fleming, and "No Room of Her Own" by CMHC, Sylvia Novac, J. Brown are used to support the arguments of this paper. One common theme of these articles is the identification of what causes homeless as well as how it can be solved. Meanwhile, in the pursuit of resolving homelessness, various sectors of the society are determining the root cause of homelessness often attributing it to structural problems like uneven wealth and power distribution, poverty, lack of employment opportunities, and housing shortages. This is often due to the widespread belief that problems in shelter are more economic and structural in nature. However, homelessness should not be looked at just the lack of a permanent physical structure to settle into but the individual's lack of belongingness and comfort. The real root of homelessness goes beyond the broad economic and societal issues present in the community to more specific and deeper needs for emotional shelter. The National Coalition for the Homeless cites seven major causes of homelessness four of which are structural problems. ... Unemployment on the other hand limits the ability of an individual to generate income in order to afford a decent house. People who are unemployed generally lack money to rent a place to stay that's why they prefer streets and shelters. Homelessness is also blamed to the inadequate or lack of social intervention from the government. Declining welfare is also synonymous with only few people benefiting from it. These aforementioned structural issues and the respective explanation on how they contribute to the problem of homelessness fail to tell the true story. It is partly true that homelessness can be explained by the imperfections in the economic structure. However, if that is the case, we should expect countries which are more economically developed like the United States to have less or no occurrence of homelessness. Furthermore, the articles under consideration reveal that the cause of homelessness goes beyond these structural issues. Stackhouse, Layton, O' Reilly Fleming, and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CHMC) provided support to the argument that homelessness is also caused by individual factors unique to each homeless. Stackhouse's account which relates the situation of BJ disproves the assumption that all homeless cannot afford a home. It should be noted that BJ, a panhandler living in the streets of Toronto, has a two-story home in Newfoundland (230). Also, being unemployed is not always a reason why people seek shelters. Stackhouse recounts the story of an "overnight guest" who earns $600 to $700 each week by hauling scrap metals to dumps. The support from the government may well be useless as some homeless like Jake do not collect their welfare. Thus, using structural

Marine Electric Energy Sources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marine Electric Energy Sources - Essay Example Tides are formed as a result of gravitation force from the sun and the moon, Tidal barrage are dams constructed across an estuary to hold water during high tides and then utilise the potential energy from the high water levels during low tide to generate electricity using turbines, the largest tidal barrage is the Rance tidal plant in France that produces 240 mega watts. Wave are formed when a strong wind passes over sea water, when wave energy is captured it is used to generate electricity, the height of waves depend on the speed of wind, depth of water and duration of wind. According to Jason Margolis(2007) the Pelamis system is on of the widely used method to produce electricity, the Pelamis is a large snake like device that floats and is anchored to the seabed, the device has three power generating sections and waves enable the device to make snake like movements that push hydraulic fluids used in generating electricity, Jason Margolis (2007) states that the system is expensive compared to other sources of energy and at the same time relatively inefficient, these devices are placed parallel to each other forming a wave farm, one of the operational Pelamis system was installed in Portugal in 2008 producing 2.25 megawatts. Offshore Wind farms: Wind power is utilised by turbines which that produce electric energy, according to Jason Margolis (2007) wind energy costs have reduced by 80% over the years due to advancement in technology. A wind farm is a number of wind turbines in the same location. Wind farms are either onshore farm, near shore or offshore. Offshore wind farms are located some kilometres into the sea, wind speed in the sea is considered to have higher speed compared to the wind on the land, however offshore wind firms are more expensive than other wind farms. According to Jason Szep (2009) the US plans to install an offshore wind firm at a cost of 1 billion dollars, the project is expected to have 130 turbines which will produce approximately 170 megawatts in the Cape Cod region and the power generated will be in a position to provide power to over 400,000 residents. Ocean thermal energy conversion: This is a form of energy source that involves utilising temperature differences in sea water, large temperature differences produce more power, the thermal system used in producing electricity is approximately 3%, system used in utilising this form of energy are very expensive and the power produced is relatively low and depends on the location. According to Reuters (2008) the US government has plans of spending over 1.4 billion to enable innovations of Ocean thermal energy conversion, for this reason therefore there have been efforts to improve Ocean thermal energy conversion. Political, economic and environmental implications: Political implications: The European Union according to this report is planning to over 20% of energy using renewable source and therefore it is likely that the renewable energy will be alternative in the future to produce electric energy. However Critics exist is that the some forms of energy sources will hinder economic growth, example the proposed wind farm in the US is expected to hinder commercial fishing in

Kellys (2005) account of Britains trades unions demonstrates that Essay

Kellys (2005) account of Britains trades unions demonstrates that workers in Britain no longer feel the need for the collective representation of their intere - Essay Example A quarter of a century ago almost 75% of the workforce were enrolled as members of a trade union. Presently in the public sector 3 out of every 5 workers are union members and has greater aggregate membership than the private sector where only one employee out of 6 is a union member. Sue Fernie and David Metcalf in their Book "Trade Unions: Resurgence or Demise" 2 (2005) analyses the decline of trade unions and its future prospects. It contains contributions from leading analysts on the labour movement including Richard Freeman, John Kelly, Paul Willman, Howard Gospel, Rebecca Givan, David Marsden, Morris Kleiner and Claus Schnabel. In Chapter 4 of the Book discussing "Social Movement Theory and Union Revitalization in Britain", John Kelly, paints a very gloomy picture on the future prospects of trade union movement in Britain. According to him a stage has reached where workers in Britain no longer feel the need for collective representation of their interests. In this treatise we shall try to understand how relevant Kelly's observations are. The trends over the last two de... Another disturbing trend noticed was the reluctance by the employers to recognise unions as representatives of their employees for collective bargaining. As a result of this unions have not been able to retain their authority at workplaces. It was noticed that with the erosion in their bargaining power there was a drop in the incomes of the unions adversely affecting their vibrancy. Managements started bypassing unions over work models, deployment/ redeployment of labour force, their recruitment and training etc, which were domains where unions had a dominating influence. Unions being circumvented by the managements had an adverse effect on union membership and its influence over the employees. Unhelpful government legislations in the 1980s further eroded union status and employers started taking advantage of the situation. This state of affairs led to another far-reaching trend in workplace disputes. Meaningful two-way dialogue was a recognized form of unions' collective bargaining ethos. Gradually this form of two-way communication started to spillover beyond unions to non-union formats. This form of informal direct two-way dialogue with entities such as problem-solving groups and the statutory works council, etc, started making incursions into other domains of formal two-way dialogues also. It is of interest to note that in the United States under the Wagner Act the union voice is the only permitted form of dialogue for resolution of work place disputes. Countries who have adopted democratic principles of governance for their society accepts only formal employee voice provided by recognised trade unions as an accepted arrangement for workplace dispute resolution. However, in Britain a new approach

The Aubrey-Maturin Series of Novels by Patrick O'Brian Article

The Aubrey-Maturin Series of Novels by Patrick O'Brian - Article Example The Aubrey-Maturin novels depict historical events took place during Napoleonic wars at the beginning of the 19th century. O'Brian does not follow a strict chronological order depicting events from 1801-1813, and 1813-1814. The uniqueness is that O'Brian vividly portrays cultural and religious settings and values of the epoch, its historical significance and social traditions. Two main characters, Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin may be compared in matters of general cultural background, including politics and religion, as well as in three key elements of natural philosophy: the anatomical emphasis on pre-adapted functional design, the treatment of extinction, and the belief in fixity rather than transformation. All of these topics help define Maturin's patterns of thinking as a naturalist and shed light on subtly significant moments within the novels. Maturin was educated among the philosophes of the French Enlightenment, but both men, Aubrey and Maturin, also maintained a political and religious conservatism that some people found incongruous (King, 2001). The Aubrey-Maturin novels carry out the paradoxical process of instruction found in the most interesting historical fiction: at the same time they make readers conversant with ideas, tropes, and habits of an earlier world, they also perform the noble literary work of defamiliarization. In creating a compelling vision of natural philosophy, O'Brian makes room for a lost paradigm that seems oddly fresh, for all its scientific antiquity. He revives a naturalist's dream of preternatural design that has become increasingly difficult to imagine. O'Brian portrays that Maturin and Aubrey came to detest what grew from the Revolution and turned away from its democratic principles (King, 2001). In The Wine-Dark Sea, when Maturin meets up with a French utopian named Dutourd, he initially tempers his criticism with some sympathy (Teachout, 2003). Dutourd seems to be "a good benevolent man" led astray by that "mumping villain Rousseau and later by his passionate belief in his own system, based it was true on a hatred of poverty, war and injustice, but also on the assumption that men were naturally and equally good, needing only a firm, friendly hand to set them on the right path, the path to the realization of their full potentialities. This, of course, entailed the abolition of the present order, which had so perverted them, and of the established churches" (O'Brian 2004, p. 32). O'brian's assessment reveals his lingering attraction to revolutionary promises, but, he values established religious and social order above the systems of ideologues. Nor does he believe in the natural equality of humans (King, 2001). As Adrian Desmond has shown, French and British radicals of the period saw a linkage between the atomistic materialism of biology; in which all forms of life developed from a common origin, and revolutionary political theories based on natural equality. Maturin reject both the natural and political philosophy of democratic atomism (Teachout, 2003). When asked by Dutourd what he thinks of democracy, Maturin replies that "he did not think the policy that put Socrates to death and that left Athens prostrate was the highest expression of human wisdom," and he cites Aristotle's "definition of democracy as mob-rule, the depraved version of a commonwealth" (O'Brian 2004, p.

Addressing Nursing Shortage Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Addressing Nursing Shortage - Research Paper Example This essay discusses that prior to 1980s healthcare was solely a physician’s concern and certain problems like cardiac malfunctions were not considered problems until after symptoms were developed. This caused a lot of financial stress on the patients when they were treated at late stages of the disease. As a result of research it was suggested that care provided before the advent of symptoms can cost far less than the care provided after symptom development. Since then the trend of â€Å"Preventive Care† that is avoidance of disease or accident before it occurs, evolved. Managed care is the current concept for running a successful healthcare system which is a pre-planned treatment of the patient. In this system patient is considered as a client whose health is continually monitored and evaluated and treated accordingly. Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) are examples of managed care system. This concept has entirely changed the healthcare scenario. The role of phy sicians and nurses has been redefined. According to World Health Organization, a commendable health care system is one which provides quality services to people in need. The components of a good health system vary from country to country, however the basic mechanisms like, adequate financing, well-trained physicians and medical staff, reliable information on which policies are made, fully-equipped facilities and delivery of quality medicine and modern technology to the patients should remain the same everywhere. The health care system of United States is one of the best systems in the world in terms of funding and modern technology usage but it is also characterized by a lack of central planning, direction and control. The system is a blend of public sector and private health providers. This system is highly decentralized and complex and on top of that costly services make it quite unaffordable for a certain population. Two major health insurance programs Medicaid and Medicare are f unded by the federal government. Medicaid is funded jointly by federal government and the states and it serves the low income and poor people. While Medicare is a federal government funded two-part program that cover hospital costs and few nursing home services and physician services respectively (Nagelkerk, 2006). Despite these efforts the rising health care costs have proved to be a significant hurdle in the betterment of the system. Many problems are faced by the U.S healthcare system, a major problem being the uninsured public. According to U.S Census Bureau the number of uninsured rose to 49.9 million in 2010 from 49.0 million in 2009. Another problem which we will study is the nursing shortage. The term refers to a situation where the professional nurses’ demand exceeds the supply. The phenomenon is observed both nationally and globally and in the developed and developing countries. The shortage can be measured in terms of nurse-patient population ratio. Nursing: A Brie f overview Caring for the sick and injured has been a centuries old tradition. It has evolved throughout the years from a domestic work to professional arena. Care is practiced in different ways in the world but United States has set an example for the rest of the world. Before we discuss modern care we take a look at the nursing history in the States. Nursing is an integral part of any health care system and it plays a significant part in attaining patient care outcomes. The nurses care for the patients, work in collaboration with the medical team and assess and treat the problems. The nursing work force mainly includes director of nursing (DON), registered nurses (RNs), Licensed practical nurses (LPNs), certified nurse assistant (CNA) and other staff such as aides, orderlies and personal care attendants (Buerhaus, Auerbach, & Steiger, 2009). Following chart shows the percentage breakdown of nursing facility employees in various categories (American Health Care

Segmentation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Segmentation - Essay Example The alternate subgroup requires packaging services for their shipping items. The items are usually large or fragile, and they require expert packaging services to clear them from any liability. Shipping customers are mostly those buying or selling items through the internet. Those who require packaging, additionally, most likely are too busy to spare some time and would rather pay for the packaging service. The Mail Box customer segment involves those customers who require Private Mail Boxes. This need for Private Mail Boxes can be brought about by different reasons. They include legality issues, convenience of location, hours of operation, amongst others. Mail Box Customers also prioritize convenience over most other things. Mail Box shipping station services use real street addresses and deliver and pick up mails right at the customer’s doorstep as opposed to the Post Office. Additionally, those who move around a lot are offered a permanent mail address at the shipping stations to avoid the loss of their mails. This customer segment involves customers who require a fax transmittal service, for receiving or sending a fax but do not own or are unable to access a fax machine to meet their service requirement. This segment maintains a stable demand for fax transmittal services even with the advent and development of the email

Media Stereotypes Essay Example for Free

Media Stereotypes Essay In class we discussed stereotypes that are present in all forms of media, and even in our everyday lives. In the entertainment world, stereotyping helps people quickly understand a character or storyline. We can all quickly recognize the archetypes of the dumb jock, the underprivileged student or athlete trying to rise above their circumstances, and even the religious zealot that lives down the street. These stereotypes aid in the viewer s’ understanding and are also helpful for the show’s writers, who often must fit a build-up, plot, and resolution into a 20-minute time slot. More and more, religious stereotypes are being intertwined into television programming. In fact, stereotypes of religions are not only included in a television show’s storyline, sometimes they play a major role in providing the entertainment value. The stereotypes of religious people in broadcast television focus on any religious people that are current targets of pop culture, including Christians, Jews, Muslims, Atheists and others. In a recent episode of the Simpsons, the classic pop culture phenomenon, a new family who happens to be Muslim moves into town, and Bart makes friends with the family’s son. Homer becomes aware of this, and, in his classic tactful manner, asks the family over for dinner to question them to see if they are terrorists or not. Although Bart finds evidence throughout the episode that proves the family must be terrorists out to destroy Springfield, in the end he is forced with the reality that they are just normal Joes trying to have a happy life. Although the stereotype is resolved as the potential terrorists are discovered to be just another family in the neighbourhood, the whole entertainment value of the episode comes from Homer’s assumption that the stereotype is true. People can find this episode humorous because they can relate to the stereotype after recent events in the news. While the story is playing off what has happened (and is still happening) in our own culture, we must question the effect this has on the mind-set of society towards various religious groups. Are episodes such as this reinforcing negative religious stereotypes in our mind (such as all Muslims are terrorists) and, as a result, turning us into intolerant people? My husbands argument concerning the previous question is this: Shows like the Simpsons are just entertainment. The information presented is not necessarily accurate, and it doesn’t have to be. It is purposely offensive and must be very extreme to provide humour, which it does very well and people like it. Just because stereotypes are presented in television content, it doesnt necessarily mean that people are going to treat people the way Homer does if a religious family moves into their neighbourhood. I tend to be on the other side of the issue. As stereotypes about religious people are reinforced by a medium such as television, they are further implanted in our brains and make us more likely to act upon the stereotype when put in a related situation. This can lead to some uncomfortable situations and opportunities to misjudge people. What do you think? Do stereotypes in television reinforce the negative ideas we may have against various religious people, or are they simply providing entertainment and not influencing us, at least not in a significant way?

Effect of Ethylene on Musa Acuminata Ripeness

Effect of Ethylene on Musa Acuminata Ripeness Introduction The purpose of the experiment is to determine whether the amount of ethylene would affect the rate of ripeness of Musa acuminata. It is hypothesized that the amount of ethylene does affect the rate of ripeness of M. acuminata. The more the ethylene, the faster M. acuminata will ripen. This is because it stimulates plant response when it gets to the plant tissue. It is hypothesized that the banana with two slices of apple will ripen the fastest, followed by the banana with one slice of apple, and finally the control group, which consists of only a banana and no apples. Ethylene, also known as ethene, is a naturally occurring gas that is produced by ripening fruits. The chemical formula for ethylene is C2H4. Ethylene, which is shown in Figure 1, is a member of the alkene family, which includes any chemical that contains two carbons connected by a double bond and two other single bonds can be formed for each carbon (1, 2, 3). Ethylene can be used intentionally to ripen fruits. Some characteristics of ethylene are that its vapors from a boiling liquid are lighter than air and thus can rise easily, that it can easily be ignited, that it is not toxic at all (4). Ethylene affects plants by influencing plants growth, development, and how long they can be stored. External sources of ethylene can also have similar influence on fruits. A fruit produces significantly more ethylene during some stages of its development and when there are abiotic or biotic changes happening to it. A plant is affected and influenced when it is exposed to ethylene in the environment surrounding it or when it is close to a fruit that is producing excessive amounts of ethylene. The main purpose of having external sources of ethylene is to ripen fruits (1). Ethylene can only be produced under a condition where there is enough oxygen and not too much of carbon dioxide. The same condition must happen for ethylene to influence the fruits. Ethylene is spread throughout the fruit by diffusion. The rate of the production and diffusion depends what the stage of plant development that the plant is going through (1). Climacteric fruits, such as tomato, apple, pear, and melon, are those that increase the amount of ethylene significantly during the process of ripening. On the other hand, non-climacteric fruits, such as grape, orange, and pineapple, are those fruits that do not produce an excessive amount of ethylene during the process of ripening (1). Ethylene can only affect nearby tissue when it is produced in climacteric fruits or fruits that are injured. Examples of injured fruits or vegetables are when they are peeled, sliced, cut, or any kind of preparation or processing actions. For non-climacteric fruits that are not ripening yet, ethylene can reduce or slow down the production of itself. That means that when it is not ripening, a fruit that follows that criteria will not ripen so fast since the production of ethylene is stopped by ethylene itself. When climacteric fruits start to ripen, the ethylene leads to its own synthesis and a lot more of ethylene is produced. Because of this, the concentration of ethylene in the fruit increases rapidly and reaches such a high level that external ethylene source no longer has effects on the fruit (1). There is little effect when the external source of ethylene for fruits like apples and bananas is reduced, because the fruit itself has the ability to resist the diffusion and the fruit can produce ethylene at a very fast rate that exceeds the rate of diffusion of ethylene leaving the fruit to the surrounding (1). External ethylene source includes other plants, smoke, compressed ethylene gas, and chemicals that release ethylene. When a fruit is has just started to ripen, the concentration of ethylene in the fruit is low. At this time, reducing external ethylene source helps to slow down or delay the process of ripening significantly. When a fruit is wounded, which means that it is damaged, the rate of the production of ethylene increases. This leads to the fruit ripening earlier than normal or at a faster rate. The interactions between ethylene and the plants environment is also shown in Figure 2 (1). Ethylene production can be accelerated when there is external influence, such as injuries or wounds on the fruit. This causes the fruit to ripen faster since more ethylene was being produced. However, the result of external influence and internal development ultimately results in the same thing causing the fruit to ripen faster. As a result, it is difficult to tell if the fruit was ripening at a faster rate because it was damaged or if it was at that stage of plant development (5). External and internal ethylene sources like pollution, ethylene in the surrounding, ethylene production, and stress, both abiotic and biotic, all affect the plant tissue. When the plant tissue is influenced, it stimulates plant responses, such as producing excessive amounts of ethylene to start the ripening process (1). One way that this plant response can be delayed or slowed down is to store the fruit in a place like the refrigerator, where the temperature would be low so that the quality of the fruit can be preserved. Since ethylene can only be produced under a condition where there is enough oxygen and not too much carbon dioxide, lowering the amount of oxygen around the fruit can also slow down the process of ripening. In addition, the rate of the process of ripening can also be reduced by increasing the amount of carbon dioxide around the area so that ethylene cannot be produced as effectively (1). Ethylene in bananas causes the banana to lose chlorophyll and turn into a yellow color from a green color. When ethylene is removed or reduced, the color changes can be delayed and the fruit can be stored for a longer period of time (1). Ethylene can cause a fruit to be softened and produce a different or stronger aroma, texture, and taste. Usually, ripened fruits become sweeter than unripe fruits. In addition, the difference of the amount of ascorbic acid between ripened fruits and unripe fruits is not very significant (1). Figure 1: Ethylene Figure 2: Ethylene interactions with plants and environment Bibliography Saltreit, Mikal E. Effect of Ethylene on Quality of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables. Postharvest Biology and Techonology 15 (1999): 279-92. 11 Nov. 1998. Web. 27 Oct. 2016. http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/datastore/234-2189.pdf. ethylene (H2C=CH2). Encyclopaedia Britannia. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 2016. Web. 19 Oct. 2016. http://www.britannica.com/science/ethylene. OLeary, Donal. Alkenes Chemical Properties. Alkenes. 2000. Web 29 Oct. 2016 http://www.ucc.ie/academic/chem/dolchem/html/dict/alkenes.html. ETHYLENE. National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2016. http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Ethene#section=Top. Abe, Kazuhiro, and Alley E. Watada. Ethylene Absorbent to Maintain Quality of Lightly Processed Fruits and Vegetables. Journal of Food Science 56 (1991): 1589-592. Web. 19. Oct. 2016. http://ucanr.edu/datastoreFiles/234-1777.pdf.

Morality Of Active Voluntary Euthanasia Philosophy Essay

Morality Of Active Voluntary Euthanasia Philosophy Essay Medical advancements are increasing and have been playing a vital role in prolonging human life. On one side where medicine is gaining victory in providing quality and improved lives to the patients, similarly on the other hand, issues related to termination of human life are creating a state of dilemma for all health care professionals, patients and their family members. The decisions related to termination of life issues, that is, Euthanasia has been well debated since very long as it involves moral, ethical and social dilemmas. Euthanasia is being supported and encouraged by many, but there are philosophies which strongly oppose and question its morality. The notion of enforcing Euthanasia puts forward the concepts of autonomy and respect for life. However, there arises a question that, who has the authority to terminate a human life? Is it the person himself, his family members, health care professionals or God who can take a human life? The final question that need to be answere d is that, does a human have the authority to end other humans life on the basis of either his own opinion or merely on that patients will? This paper aims to analyze the dilemma of the morality of active voluntary euthanasia in Utilitarian and Kantanian perspective. Active voluntary euthanasia is when deliberate actions are being taken to kill a terminally ill patient on his/her own request. John Stuart Mill and Kant have put forward various view points in the light of which the morality of active voluntary euthanasia could be judged. Whenever the dilemma is debated in context of different philosophies, euthanasia has always lied in the grey zone of morality. Mills utilitarianism which puts forward the greatest happiness principle admits that the dignity itself is the form of higher pleasure. According to Jane Maj, The death with dignity Act also offers the compassion with great respect to end the suffering of a patient when all other measures are exhausted. This means that when the ultimate result is just the suffering for the terminally ill patient then it is better to end that persons life with dignity because then it would be the source of higher pleasure for the person, if he or she requests so. Utilitarianism evaluates actions in many perspectives of which act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism will be taken into account. According to Vincent Barry, in act utilitarian point of view each situation is considered unique; each new set of circumstances calls for a fresh evaluation. So, if the consequence of terminating a persons life in a particular situation results in good consequences, that is, greatest good for the majority in that case then it would be the correct act to follow. Maj also supports this point by pointing to a particular case when the final consequence will bring happiness and peace to the patient, but also to family members and friends who wish for the physical pain of their loved one to cease ending the persons life in this situation is a good action as it also eliminates a persons pain. On the other hand Rule utilitarianism, according to Barry, asserts that we should not consider the consequences of a particular action but rather the consequences of the rule under which the action falls. Furthermore, Frank Collins also explains about rule utilitarianism that, it is the rule that needs to be followed whether it lead to greater pleasure for an individual in a particular situation or not at a particular time. The focus is that the rule should be followed which could bring greater good to the community. Thus, in the case of euthanasia if a person is deliberately killed then it might create happiness for the person himself but on the other hand, it might create fear and uncertainity amongst the family members, neighbors or in the community at large. The fear and uncertainty of getting killed in the future when they would get terminally ill and that when no cure is available for them in the future. From the above given points it could be concluded that the act would create greater good to the individual but not to the community which in the light of rule utilitarian concept, would not allow voluntary euthanasia. But, Peter Singer has re plied to this case of becoming uncertain and fearful by putting forward the argument that, the fact that killing can lead to fear and insecurity in those who learn of the risk to their own lives, is transformed into a reason in favour of permitting killing, when people are killed only on their request. For then killing poses no threat. Through this argument it could be finally concluded that, as far as active voluntary euthanasia is concerned then according to rule utilitarianism the act could be allowed and would be appropriate to be followed as it is being done with the persons own wish without creating the feeling of uncertainity in the community and thus produce greater good to the community as well. Moreover, when a person is given autonomy to make his/her own decisions, it creates greatest happiness for him/her and thus any person who is fully capable of taking decisions must be free to decide. As, Singer also says that, If beings are capable of making choices, we should, other things being equal, allow them to decide whether or not their lives are worth living. On the contrary according to Singer, A consequentialist might initially answer: whatever goods life holds, killing ends them. So if happiness is a good, as classical hedonistic utilitarians hold, then killing is bad because when one is dead one is no longer happy. In the same way it could be analyzed that once a person is dead, his autonomy also remains no more. So, it would be a bad or immoral action to kill someone with or without request because killing ends a persons autonomy. Thus, preservation of ones life results in the preservation of his/her autonomy. Kant also puts forward many propositions to judge the morality of an action which could help in determining the morality of active voluntary euthanasia. In Kantanian perspective a moral action and duty have biconditional relationship with each other. Albert Denise Peterfreund explains Kants first ethical proposition that, human actions have moral worth only if they are performed from duty. He furthermore says that, For example, a man who preserves his life in routine conformity to duty is acting from an inclination which is according to duty, but not from duty. On the other hand, to preserve life when it has become a burden, only because duty requires it, is morally correct. It thus could be concluded that, killing a person on his own request at the time when he is in a great suffering and has no cure for his disease is an immoral and wrong act, as the act is not done from duty, so, it doesnot have any moral worth. In addition to this, it is a duty to preserve life no matter how pain ful and difficult it is to survive. Kants supreme principle or the law of morality lies in categorical imperative, which says that, one should act only on those maxims which could be universalized. Hence, the universal law is that it is always wrong to kill an innocent human being. In addition to this, according to Kant, as said by Peterfreund that human being must be treated as end in himself and not merely as means to an end. Similarly, it is wrong to treat a person as mere means for an end, and this is what a person does when he aims to put himself to death in order to get rid of his pain. So, a person should understand that it is his life and his own self which are the ends and not the means that is killing himself which serves the ends. I. Brassington also affirms the above statement when he says that, in acceding to a request for euthanasia, it is possible that I am treating a person as means to an end and thereby undermining the personhood in him. Paul Jewell refers to a situation in which a patient asks for act ive euthanasia, Jewell says that, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦even if a competent rational patient requests euthanasia, and even if both the patients and doctors judgement is that any benefit from remaining alive is far outweighed by the actual distress of the illness, nonetheless, the doctor should not assist the patient to die. The theories given by Kant and Mill are both subjective in nature and thus are highly debatable. On one hand some of the utilitarian perspectives would consider active voluntary euthanasia as moral. While, on the other hand Kantanian propositions and perspectives would consider the act as immoral, as, in Kantanian view point the preservation of life in every circumstance is considered as ones duty and this duty must be followed with due respect in order to make it highly moral. Proponents of active voluntary euthanasia maintains that it is the autonomy and right of a person to decide for his own life, while, the opponents of this act assert that it is the duty of a person to live the life that is given to him and it is always wrong to kill any human being. No human have any authority over the decision to terminate his life or the life of any other human being.

Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big

Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big To fully understand this book, people must go behind the book and find the true state of mind of the author. Unfortunately in this case, the author is the one and only Jose Canseco. Jose Canseco is what I like to call, â€Å"The black sheep in the family of baseball.† Canseco’s history can be related to such incidents of drug using, heavy drinking, numerous sexual encounters with hundreds of partners, and unreasonable acts of violence. This book goes into grave detail on how steroids have changed his life and how it is currently changing baseball. Juiced starts off with what appears to be a legal disclaimer. "This book does not intend to condone or encourage the use of any particular drugs, medicine or illegal substances." Yet the author spends most of the time doing nothing but repeating his assertions that taken under proper supervision, these drugs can enhance everyday life. Jose Canseco says he wrote Juiced because he wanted his fans to listen to him and hear him out on what he has to say about the current state of baseball and it’s future. I believe this former 40-40 had another reason for writing this book and it’s plain and simple†¦money. Money encourages the human mind to perform selfish and somewhat outlandish stunts in order to achieve wealth. I believe that Jose Canseco’s mind consists of slop and greed. It’s a proven fact that this 1988 Major League MVP has a truly unstable mind. One incident in his book that proves this is the time he went â€Å"deep sea fishing.† The story begins with Jose Canseco’s wife leaving him for Kansas City Chiefs’ all-star tight end, Tony Gonzalez. Mr. Canseco reacted by grabbing his 12-gauge shotgun and taking his boat out to sea where he decided to shoot sharks with his shotgun when they surfaced. This incident is one of the very many incidents that question the complete truth in Juiced. Jose Canseco is best known for several things: A fly ball bouncing off his noggin and landing over the fence, dating Madonna, his tape measure home runs, having numerous run-ins with the law, being the first man to ever hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season, and his bulging biceps. In Juiced, Canseco recalls other steroid user’s stories within the sport ... ...baseball and hold them responsible. Unfortunately, there are also a lot of bad things rising from the depths of this book. One of these would be the fact that Jose Canseco is gaining more attention for these appalling allegations and stories. Not only is Canseco gaining attention from the media but he’s also profiting immensely from his book, book signings, talk shows, and television appearances. The only thing worse than a regular Jose Canseco is a rich Jose Canseco. We are simply feeding the dragon himself by agreeing and believing all his allegations in Juiced. The book clearly depicts that there are holes within his stories and these prevent the truth to be fully told. Although I have an undying hatred for Jose Canseco, he deserves credit for forcing America to give serious attention to the steroid problem not only in baseball but all of professional sports. Without Jose Canseco’s deceiving stories about the abuse and the media attention that this is creating, there is a possibility that this could have been unnoticed for many years to come. This drug usage throughout the league is clearly paving a dark future for our national pastime.

Smuggling Of Nuclear Material Essay -- essays research papers

Smuggling of Nuclear Material Over the past five years the former states of the Soviet Union haven't been able to prevent the leakage of nuclear material. Nuclear materials and technologies are more accessible now than at any other time in history, due to the breakup of the Soviet Union and the worsening of economic conditions. No longer does the Soviet KGB, the Soviet military and the Soviet border guards have the control to stop the smuggling of nuclear material's. With the Cold War being over, there is a huge stockpile of over 100 nuclear sites (See Appendix A). Russia, alone has an inventory of 1,300 tons of highly enriched uranium (HEU), and 165 tons of weapon usable plutonium. Such material is coming into high demand on the market. Terrorist, organized crime and countries with nuclear ambition, are high bid contenders for the material. The United States is also becoming involved for the safety of preventing a nuclear disaster. The U.S. has just begun their large task and with Russia's worsening economy, smuggling of nuclear material will continue.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the Cold War the security of Soviet nuclear weapons and missile materials was based on a highly centralized military system and operating within a strong political authority. The workers back then where well disciplined and each individual new his/her role. The workers were among the best treated and loyal to the Russian military. They are now suffering hardships and are forced to scavenge anything to pay for their food, rent and social services.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A new trend is already occurring with some of the workers . There are those that will seek employment out of the nuclear field and in the commercial sector, where salaries are higher. Then the unfortunate who lose their jobs and find no work. The scarier thought is that the uncontempt people in Russia's nuclear complex with access to nuclear materials will sell themselves, to make a quick buck. Most suppliers of nuclear material, were insiders who had worked or were then working at nuclear research institutes or naval bases. Most perpetrators had no customers in hand but new that a quick profit existed (See Appendix B).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first confirmed case involving the diversion of HEU occurred at the Luch Scientific Production Association in Podolsk. Between May and September of... ...;  Ã‚  Ã‚  The smuggling of nuclear material out of Russia has become proratable to the low income worker as well as to the benefit of terrorist, organism crime and nuclear research centers. There exist no security at most of the nuclear facilities and so apprehending the material is quit easy. More cases of unsuccessful attempts are becoming known to the media, but any successful attempts the government, both Russia and the U.S have decline to answer. If left unchecked it may even escalate to the complex level of drug smuggling. Work Cited List   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Thomas B. Cochran, Robert S. Norriss, Making the Russian Bomb: From Stalin to Yelsin, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1995.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  John Deutch,  ³The Threat of Nuclear Diversion Statement for Record, ² CIA, March 20, 1996.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alexei Lebedev, in  ³Russian Weapons Plutonium Storage Termed Unsafe by Minatom Official, ² Nucleonics Week, April 28, 1994.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Weclliam C. Potter,  ³Arms Control Today, ² Monterey Institute of Internation Studies, October 1995. Paul Woessner,  ³Nuclear Material Trafficking: An Interim Assessment,  ³ Bridgeway

Cognitive Ability Essay

Any company needs a system of control and measurement. This is all the more true in the food industry, wherein the expected output is not only about taste or profitability, but also on several factors that could cause a multitude of praise or problems such as quality of service, effective controls, innovative product mix, brand image, etc (Profitable Tips For All Restaurant Owner, by Kevin Moll). Although the restaurant operations group, central office, administrative support, and upper management are all expected to be calibrated and to work in harmony, this type of business requires a funnel point, or local management whose role to act remotely on behalf of, but in full calibration with, upper management in terms of policy implementation, achieving store targets, local marketing, and other operational tasks. This funnel point is the Restaurant Manager (Ninemeier, Jack D. ; Hayes, David K. (2006). Restaurant Operations Management: Principles and Practices. Upper Saddle River, N. J: Pearson Prentice Hal). In recent years, it has been a recurring problem of the Shakey’s Philippines operations team that some of the Restaurants have not been meeting its target Quality, Service, Cleanliness, and Hospitality (QSCH) Score and Profitability Goals (Based on the 2012 Audit Scores). Although several initiatives have been rolled out to coach each employee’s performance, the consistency of the store’s QSCH scores and the achievement of target profitability have been directly linked with the performance of the respective Restaurant Manager (Store QSCH Score is included in Restaurant Manager’s total Performance Appraisal rate). Although coaching initiatives and continuous improvement programs have been launched and maintained, the problem resurfaces when attrition happens. Whether the attrition is expected or unexpected, the fact is that new talent coming in, either from the outside or from within, will always face the same pitfalls and challenges, plus problems that have been newly developed or caused by the failure of the previous local management handling the store; this causes the aforementioned coaching and continuous improvement initiatives to be re-implemented and relearned, ending and beginning this loop again with attrition, even slowing down the effectiveness of improvement initiatives. The process of learning and relearning, which is highly dependent on the Restaurant Managers’ cognitive ability, makes the difference when dealing with this loop(Schmidt, Hunter, and Outerbridge’s (l986)  causal model of job performance); it defines how much the Restaurant and, consequentially, the store itself can progress from the loop and continuously improve on its operational performance. This study aims to understand the significance and relation of the Restaurant Managers’ cognitive ability on the achievement of store objectives, and to address such problems. Background of the study Schmidt, Hunter, and Outerbridge’s causal model of job performance suggests that cognitive ability is the most important cause of job performance and that the relationship between ability and performance is stable over time (Development of a Causal Model of Processes Determining Job Performance, Frank L Schmidt and John E. Hunter). Though there is a lack of studies that specifically discusses the impact or effect of Restaurant Managers’ cognitive ability on the store performance, the scope of the universal model developed by Schmidt, Hunter, and Outerbridge could be used for restaurant industry. There are three factors to consider, before discussing the relationship between the Restaurant Managers’ cognitive ability and the performance of the stores the Managers respectively handle: 1. The Restaurant Manager’s Duties and Responsibilities needed to be accomplished, as well as targets to be achieved; 2. The Restaurant Manager’s Personal and Technical Competencies needed prior to placing any candidate, external or internal, into this position; 3. The current average and modal store performance in a given sample population versus the scores of the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) tests taken by the Restaurant Managers who run the stores in the sample population. The first two factors are found in the Restaurant Manager’s Job Description, which differs from company to company, while the third factor will be based on actual data from the sample population within a prescribed performance appraisal period alongside the last known IQ test scores of the respective Restaurant Managers. The first two factors are what will be used to describe, respectively, the current deliverables expected from all Restaurant Managers, and who the ideal Restaurant Manager should be as well as the capabilities in running store operations effectively. From the analysis of this information we can further elaborate the significance of measuring cognitive ability for prospective Restaurant Managers for screening purposes, as well as current Restaurant Managers for continuous improvement and internal screening purposes. The third factor shall be used to analyze the current relationship between the Restaurant Managers’ cognitive ability and their respective store’s performance. The analysis will include possible trends to further reinforce or debunk any possible relationships. Objectives of the study †¢ To identify the relationship of Restaurant Managers’ cognitive ability and achievement of store objectives †¢ To determine the acceptable level of applicant’s IQ in hiring or promoting Restaurant Managers †¢ To recommend either changes or retention in assessment tools to accurately determine the cognitive ability of prospective Restaurant Managers Significance of the study This study, if used in similar contexts, may be used as follows: †¢ To improve company selection processes, either to reinforce or debunk current practices of measuring job applicants’ Intelligence Quotients; †¢ To create more focused people development strategies, either more or less focus on increasing employees’ cognitive abilities; †¢ To reinforce or debunk the relevance of cognitive abilities on employees’ job performance, to gauge employees’ and applicants’ capabilities to take on certain responsibilities; and †¢ To properly plan and create succession plans and manpower requests within organizations. Scope and limitations For the purpose of this study, the Job Description, performance data, and IQ test scores to be studied will be those of the Restaurant Managers of company-owned Shakey’s branches, covering Manila areas only. It shall not include data from Franchisee-owned branches and the Restaurant Managers running these branches. This study shall also cover data from Restaurant Managers who have run their respective, company-owned stores for at least one year. This is to ensure the integrity of the data, and factor out possible cultural and functional adjustment periods brought about by new-hire status, lack of experience of newly-promoted Managers, newly-built store locations, and other similar scenarios. As such, data from Restaurant Managers of company-owned stores within the sample population whose tenure is less than the period prescribed in this study shall not be included. The IQ test results to be considered shall be those taken using the proprietary internally-developed IQ test only, and will not include results from any previous IQ tests. It must be noted that this test is used on all Restaurant Managers screened either for hiring or for promotion within all locations of Shakey’s Philippines, and its norms have been based on the current manpower of the company, across all levels and departments. Therefore, this IQ test is, for the purpose of this study, valid. Convenient Sampling Method shall be used for this study, both due to logistical limitations, as well as evening-out the sample population. It should also be noted that this study shall also take into context several factors that could have an effect on the success or failure of any given establishment aside from the Restaurant Manager’s cognitive ability, such as personal competencies, values, and the working experience of the Restaurant Manager. Whichever outcome and results may arise, this study does not denote that the store’s performance is solely or definitively dependent on the Restaurant Manager’s cognitive ability. The definition of Cognitive Ability is taken from Dr. Pascale Michelon, (Author of Max Your Memory and the Founder of Memory Practice). Cognition is how a person understands the world; it is a set of abilities, skills, or processes that are part of nearly human action. Cognitive abilities are the brain-based skills we need to carry out any task, from the simplest to the most complex. Dr. Michelon states that cognitive ability has more to do with the mechanisms of how we learn, remember, solve problems, and pay attention rather than with any actual knowledge. It refers to the individual’s capacity to comprehend, think, reason and solve problems (What is a Cognitive Ability/What are Cognitive Abilities and Skill, 2006). The hospitality sector is known to have the highest employee turnover rate among all other industries (The Economic Times, Highest Attrition in Hospitality and Aviation Sectors Survey, April 2012). The Human Resources (HR) departments of companies in this sector are required to hire talents who can adjust immediately to their new working environment and possess the ability to learn, continue, and finish the tasks left by the person previously holding the vacated post in the soonest possible time, with minimal training and supervision provided (Copyright 2003-2006  www. iBizResources. com). This also holds true in Shakey’s Philippines where Restaurant Managers leave the company either for opportunities outside the country or because of better offers from competitors. Shakey’s Philippines has an estimated 8% turnover rate for the Restaurant Manager employees in 2012 (Data Collected from Shakey’s HROD). Given this situation, it is important for Shakey’s Philippines, as with any other company facing similar dilemmas, to implement programs and initiatives that will counter the negative effects of this attrition. To better understand the impact of a Restaurant Manager on an organization in the Food industry, analysis of the Restaurant Manager’s job scope is needed. The main duties and responsibilities of a Restaurant Manager of Shakey’s Philippines are as follows: 1. Oversee overall operations of the restaurant including personnel management, stocks and inventory management, maintenance management and other administrative function 2. Develop and implement Local Store Marketing strategies, and ensure proper implementation of company wide marketing promotions 3. Ensure proper implementation and compliance to company controls and standards 4. Solve problems and decide on critical issues concerning but not limited to customer complaints, employee related conflicts, administrative cases, store accidents, decreasing sales due to strong competition, equipment breakage, delayed delivery of raw materials, etc. 5. People Development For Restaurant Managers to effectively carry out these responsibilities, certain abilities are required to be identified in prospective internal and external candidates. The Qualifications and Skills of a Restaurant Manager of Shakey’s Philippines are as follows: 1. Ability to set goals and implement sales building initiatives to ensure achievement of the target sales 2. Ability to use benchmarking and trade area awareness as analysis tools. Can analyze sales trends and performance. a. Has the ability to identify business opportunities within his trade areas b. Has the ability to study competitors within his areas and implement improvements to ensure his store is at par with his competitors, c. Is constantly calibrated with the best practices of the industry, which are to be implemented and practiced in the respective store 3. Ability to plan, direct, monitor, organize, control the restaurant financial resources. a. Has the ability to conduct profit and loss analysis and easily spot discrepancies in financial reports. b. Can determine factors affecting contributing to high cost efficiently. c. Can implement action plans and preventive measures to ensure a sound operational cost d. Can manage restaurant cost to acceptable level, and can create ways and means in managing cost. 4. Can implement and monitor quality standards in the store. Has the ability to consistently achieve an excellent QSCH Audit Result. 5. Ability to develop team capabilities. a. Has the ability to energize and inspire his team, and work towards the common goals. b. Has the ability to train his management team on various restaurant system (inventory, cash control, workforce planning, etc) 6. Ability to develop and implement effective local store marketing that boost sales and build brand 7. Has the ability to develop and implement effective merchandising techniques All these qualifications and skills are most likely to be present in people with higher cognitive abilities, based on Dr. Michelon’s abovementioned definition of cognitive ability. Cognitive ability plays a major role in learning new systems and operations, as well as making correct actions in each problematic situation that people encounter at their respective workplace. This particular ability helps newly hired employees perform well in their recently acquired roles, enabling them to hit the ground running (Development of Causal Model of Processed Determining Job Performance, Frank L Schmidt, John E. Hunter). Schmidt, Hunter, and Outerbridge’s Causal Model of job performance suggests that cognitive ability is the most important cause of job performance; that it is the primary determinant of job performance, and that the influence of this ability either remains stable or increases over time. Further analysis has suggested that cognitive ability retains its influence on the employee well-past the initial stage of employment, when incumbents are learning how o do their jobs, and is still a major contributing factor for job performance measurement among more senior job incumbents. Cognitive ability enables incumbents to acquire and apply job knowledge, and is also related to the employee’s ability to solve novel problems and to make appropriate judgement in situations where routine procedures do not apply; this will be most important in situations where the employee must learn new procedures or techniques, or where novel problems or job demands require sound judgement c alls from the employee. It is necessary, then, to hire Restaurant Manager replacements with high levels of intelligence; without the ability to adapt quickly towards their new working environment, new-hires’ and employers alike will be facing problems such as losing profitability to lost opportunity cost. This is especially true in Shakey’s Philippines, as it is so for all restaurant companies, whose profitability is dependent on their Restaurant Managers’ performance.

Ethanol Fuel

Ethanol fuel  is  ethanol  (ethyl alcohol). Ethanol, also called  ethyl alcohol,  pure alcohol,  grain alcohol, or  drinking alcohol, is a  volatile,  flammable, colorless liquid. A  psychoactive drug  and one of the oldestrecreational drugs  known, ethyl alcohol produces a state known as  alcohol intoxication  when consumed. Best known as the type of  alcohol  found in  alcoholic beverages, it is also used in  thermometers, as a  solvent, and as a  fuel. In common usage, it is often referred to simply as  alcohol  or  spirits. he same type of  alcohol  found in  alcoholic beverages. It is most often used as a  motor fuel, mainly as a  biofuel  additive for  gasoline. World ethanol production for transport fuel tripled between 2000 and 2007 from 17 billion to more than 52 billion litres. From 2007 to 2008, the share of ethanol in global gasoline type fuel use increased from 3. 7% to 5. 4%. In 2011 worldwide ethanol fuel prod uction reached 22. 36 billion  U. S. liquid gallons  (bg) (84. 6 billion liters), with the United States as the top producer with 13. bg (52. 6 billion liters), accounting for 62. 2% of global production, followed by Brazil with 5. 6 bg (21. 1 billion liters). Ethanol fuel has a â€Å"gasoline gallon equivalency† (GGE) value of 1. 5 US gallons (5. 7  L), which means 1. 5 gallons of ethanol produce the energy of one gallon of gasoline. Ethanol fuel is widely used in  Brazil  and in the  United States, and together both countries were responsible for 87. 1% of the world's ethanol fuel production in 2011. Most cars on the road today in the U. S. an run on  blends of up to 10% ethanol, and ethanol represented 10% of the U. S. gasoline fuel supply in 2011. Since 1976 the Brazilian government has made it mandatory to blend ethanol with gasoline, and since 2007 the legal blend is around  25% ethanol and 75% gasoline  (E25). By December 2011 Brazil had a fleet of 14 . 8 million  flex-fuel automobiles and light trucksand 1. 5 million flex-fuelmotorcycles  that regularly use neat ethanol fuel (known as  E100). Bioethanol is a form of  renewable energy  that can be produced from agriculturalfeedstocks.It can be made from very common  crops  such as  sugar cane,  potato,  maniocand  corn. There has been considerable debate about how useful bioethanol will be in replacing gasoline. Concerns about its production and use relate to  increased food pricesdue to the large amount of arable land required for crops,  as well as the energy and pollution balance of the whole cycle of ethanol production, especially from corn. Recent developments with  cellulosic ethanol production and commercialization  may allay some of these concerns.

3m Innovation Case Study

1-What are the roots of 3M’s culture of entrepreneurship and innovation? What were the key tenets of this culture as they emerged over time? 3M goes back to 1902 when five Minnesota businessmen established the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. to mine a mineral that they thought was corundum, which is ideal for making sandpaper. The mineral, however, turned out to be low-grade anorthosite, nowhere near as suitable for making sandpaper, and the company nearly failed. To try and salvage the business, 3M turned to making the sandpaper itself using materials purchased from another source.In 1907, 3M hired a twenty-year-old business student, William McKnight, as assistant bookkeeper. This turned out to be a pivotal move in the history of the company. The key to institutionalizing innovation at 3M has been the principle of â€Å"patient money. † The basic idea is that producing revolutionary new products requires substantial long-term investments, and often repeated fail ure, before a major payoff occurs. Another key component of 3M’s innovative culture has been an emphasis on duel career tracks.Right from its early days, many of the key players in 3M’s history, people like Richard Drew, chose to staying research, turning down opportunities to go into the management side of the business. Although 3M’s innovative culture emphasizes the role of technical employees in producing innovations, the company also has a strong tradition of emphasizing that new product ideas often come from watching customers at work. 2. What were the strengths of the organization and culture of 3M during the McKnight to DeSi-mone era? What were the potential weaknesses?Leadership, CEO George Buckley is highly respected, and 3M is repeatedly recognized as a top company for developing leaders. Innovation gets a load of these stats patents awarded researchers worldwide. In many ways, 3M was ahead of its time in management philosophy and human resource practi ces. Geographically diverse Sixty-three percent of sales are outside of the United States; the company has operations in more than 65 countries. Diverse in terms of revenue streams, too. 3M has six key business units, none of which account for more than 33% of sales. Financially, there was strong paid a dividend every quarter since 1916. – The expansion of 3M into international markets was highly successful. What explains this? What was the drawback with 3M’s international expansion strategy? The first steps abroad occurred in the 1920s. There were some limited sales of wet and dry sandpaper in Europe during the early 1920s. These increased after1929 when 3M joined the Durex Corp. , a joint venture for international abrasive product sales in which 3M was involved along with eight other U. S. companies. The international businesses were grouped into an International Division that Sampair headed.From the get go, the company insisted that foreign ventures pay their own wa y. The company would start by exporting to a country and working through sales subsidiaries. The philosophy can be reduced to several key and simple commitments: Get in early, Hire talented and motivated local people, Become a good corporate citizen of the country, Grow with the local economy, American products are not one-size-fits-all around the world, Enforce patents in local countries. Program to encourage new product and new business initiatives born outside the United States.By 1983, products developed under the initiative were generating sales of over $150 million a year. 3M Brazil invented a low-cost, hot-melt adhesive from local raw materials, 3M Germany teamed up with Sumitomo 3M of Japan to develop electronic connectors with new features for the world wide electronics industry. By the 1990s 3M started to shift away from a country-by-country management structure to more regional management. Drivers behind this development included the fall of trade barriers, the rise of tr ading blocks such as the European Union and NAFTA, and the need to drive down costs in the face of intense global competition.

Police Corruption Essay

Police corruption is a complex issue. Police corruption or the abuse of authority by a police officer, acting officially to fulfill personal needs or wants, is a growing problem in the United States today. Things such as an Internal Affairs department, a strong leadership organization, and community support are just a few considerations in the prevention of police corruption. Controlling corruption from the departmental level requires a strong leadership organization, because corruption can take place anywhere from the patrol officer to the chief. The top administrator must make it clear from the start that he and the other members of the department are against any form of corrupt activity, and that it will not be tolerated in any way, shape, or form. So there are ways to prevent police corruption from happening. An investigation of a local newspaper or any police-related edited in an urban city during any given week would most likely have an article about a police officer that got caught committing some kind of corrupt act. Police corruption has increased with the illegal cocaine trade, with officers acting alone or in-groups to steal money from dealers or distribute cocaine themselves. Large groups of corrupt police have been caught in New York, New Orleans, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles, as well as many other cities. Corruption within police departments falls into 2 basic ranks, external corruption and internal corruption. Corruption in policing is usually viewed as the mistreatment of authority by police officer acting formally to fulfill their personal needs or wants. For a corrupt act to occur, three distinct elements of police corruption must be present simultaneously: 1) Mishandling of authority, 2) Mishandling of official capacity, and 3) Mishandling of personal attainment (Dantzke r, 1995: p 157). It can be said that power, it is necessarily so tends to corrupt. It is now to be  recognized that while there is no reason to assume that policemen as an individual is any less capable to make a mistake than other members of society, people are often shocked when policemen are exposed violating the law. The reason is simple; their deviance elicits a special feeling of betrayal. â€Å"Most studies support the view that corruption is endemic, if not universal, in police departments. The danger of corruption for police; is that it may invert the formal goals of the organization and may lead to the use of organizational power to encourage and create crime rather than to deter it† (Sherman 1978: p 31). Police corruption falls into two major categories– external corruption, which concerns police contacts with the public; and internal corruption, which involves the relationships among policemen within the works of the police department. The external corruption generally consists of one or more of the following activities: 1) Payoffs to the police, by people who essentially violate non-criminal elements, who fail to comply with stringent statutes or city ordinances. 2) Payoffs to the police, by individuals who continually break the law, using various methods to earn illegal mo ney. 3) â€Å"Clean Graft† where money is paid to the police for services, or where courtesy discounts are given as a matter of course to the police. â€Å"Police officers have been involved in activities such as illegal exaction of money and/or narcotics from drug violators. In order for these violators to avoid arrest, the police officers have accepted bribes, and accepted narcotics, which they turned around and sold. These police know of the violations, and fail to take proper enforcement action. They have entered into personal associations with narcotics criminals and in some cases have used narcotics. They have given false testimonies in court in order to obtain dismissal of the charges against a defendant† (Sherman 1978: p 129). A scandal is perceived both as a socially constructed phenomenon, and as an agent of change that can lead to state of agreement in the structure of power within organizations. Is there a solution to the police corruption problem? Probably not, because since its beginnings, many aspects of policing have changed, but one thing that has not, is the existence of corruption. Police agencies, in an attempt to eliminate corruption have tried everything from increasing salaries, requiring more training and education, and developing policies which are intended to focus directly of factors leading to corruption. Despite police departments’ attempts to  control cor ruption, it still occurs. Regardless of the fact, police corruption cannot simply be over looked. Controlling corruption is the only way that we can really limit corruption, because corruption is the byproduct of the individual police officer, and police environmental factors; therefore, control must come from not only the police department, but it also must require the assistance and support of the community members. If a police administrator does not act strongly with disciplinary action against any corrupt activity, the message conveyed to other officers within the department would not be that of intimated nature. In addition it may even increase corruption, because officers feel no actions will be taken against them. Another way that police agencies can control its corruption problem starts originally in the academy. Ethical decisions and behavior should be taught. If they fail to, it would make officers unaware of the consequences of corruption and do nothing but encourage it. Finally, many police depart ment’s especially large ones should have an Internal Affairs unit, which operates to investigate improper conduct of police departments. These units’ some-times are run within the department. Citation Dantzker, Mark L. (1995). Understanding Today’s Police. Officials Say Police Corruption is Hard To Stop. Sherman, Lawrence W. (1978)

“A Visit to Grandmother” and “My Father Sits in the Dark” Essay

Family is group of persons closely related by blood. As children, parents raise and teach values and many important lessons of life to innocent youngsters. As adults, each individual still calls his or her family members when the individual had a bad day or needs someone to talk to. However, despite how close a family is, family members still encounter problems communicating with each other. For example, in both stories, â€Å"A Visit to Grandmother† by William Melvin Kelley and â€Å"My Father Sits in the Dark† by Jerome Weidman, the characters dealt with communication problems within their families. In the story, â€Å"A Visit to Grandmother,† Chig and his father, Charles, decided to go back home to visit their family. When Chig and Charles arrived home, Charles’ family was ecstatic to see him and they started reminiscing about the old times. During this visit, Charles realized how his lack of communication had caused him years of separation from his family. Additionally, in â€Å"My Father Sits in the Dark,† the main character was curious about why his father often sat alone in the darkness staring at the corner. From this story, we can see how the father and son’s relationship progressed. From my experiences, language and cultural differences can also destroy a family’s relationship. Families may encounter many relationship problems due to a lack of communication. A family will fall apart when family members do not converse with each other frequently. Nowadays, people are so occupied with their lives that people do not even have time to sit at the dinner table to enjoy a family dinner. People often feel that it is difficult to find time to spend with family members. For example, in the story â€Å"A Visit to Grandmother,† Charles’s mother failed to divide her time equally between her children. Charles felt unloved as his mother usually spent more time and energy on GL, Charles’ brother. At the age of fifteen, Charles left his family because he thought â€Å"nobody loved [him]† (453). During Charles’ visit back home, he accused his mother of playing favorites with his brother. However, contrary to what Charles thought, his mother explained, â€Å"I paid more mind to GL. I had to. GL could-a ended up swinging if I hadn’t. But you was smarter†¦and I tried to show you that by letting you do what you wanted to do† (465). In this argument, Charles finally confronted his mother about his feelings towards her past actions. This confrontation revealed the problems of their  relationship, which is lack of communication. Since Charles grew up in a big family, he was unable to receive the same attention as his siblings. This misunderstanding would never have occurred if Charles and his mother had talked more frequently. Nevertheless, as family members spend more quality time together, their bonds will strengthen and the family will be more unified. Open and honest communication can resolve a lot of family relationship troubles. By talking, family members can express their troubles, interests, and love for one another. Effective communication is the key aspect to maintain a strong and healthy family. For example, in the short story, â€Å"My Father Sits in the Dark,† the author, Weidman, introduced to the readers a relationship where communication brings the father and son’s relationship together. The narrator noticed that his father likes to sit alone in the dark. On multiple occasions, the narrator asked his father why he does not turn on the lights. After persistent questioning, the narrator’s father finally answered, â€Å"I can’t get used to lights. We didn’t have lights when I was a boy in Europe. (210)† By talking to his father, the son found out that the reason that his father likes to sit in the dark is because his father is not use to artificial lights. Afterwards, the narrator felt content that his father was able to share with him his past. â€Å"My heart skips a beat and I catch my breath happily. I begin to think I understand,† thought the son gladly (211). The relationship between the father and son had developed because they were able to communicate with each other. The son communicated with his father effectively and was finally able to understand the reason his father sat quietly in the darkness. Listening is also a part of communication. The son cared about his father and took time out of his life to learn more about his father. The son felt satisfied that he and his father can talk and share stories and memories with each other. Without communication, family members are not able to understand each other and thus are secluded to their own world. Sometimes, communication problems can occur between parents and children because of language and cultural communication differences. For instance, my family immigrated to the United States when I was eight years old. As I grew  up in the United States, I became influenced by the American culture. By coming here at such a young age, my Chinese deteriorated; consequently, I found it hard to communicate with my parents. I remember one Friday night as I was watching â€Å"Friends† on television; my father came over and started watching with me. However as the show progressed, my father did not understand the plot, so he left to watch his Chinese news. When he abandoned me, I felt unworthy. I realized that he did not understand the show but I wished that he would have stayed to enjoy my company. However, instead of telling him that, I just kept the feeling buried inside of me. Even today, my father and I do not communicate as much as I would like to. My poor Chinese and his poor English prevent us from becoming very close. Communication in a family is a key aspect to the unity of the family. Every family encounters communication problems. In â€Å"A Visit to Grandmother,† Charles’ mother explained that she loves him as much as she loves GL. However, Charles still had a hard time believing his mother and accepting her explanation. Charles will never forgive her, because she is â€Å"thirty years too late. (491)† In this case, Charles and his mother both have faults. Charles could have shared with his mother what was bothering him; Charles’ mother could have spent more quality time with Charles. When communication is scarce in a family, family members have no way of understanding each other’s problems and thoughts. Meanwhile, in the short story, â€Å"My Father Sits in the Dark,† at first the father was reluctant to share with his son his past. However, only after communicating, the son was able to understand the truth. Family adds stability to a person’s life. Family is a place of warmth and comfort, which can not be easily substituted by other places. Without communication, family connection can be easily destroyed and family relationship can be separated. From my own life, I do not understand my father because we don’t communicate regularly. Only with each family member’s inputs and efforts in communicating with each other, positive family relationship can be built and maintained.

Aircraft maintenance planning procedures Research Paper

Aircraft maintenance planning procedures - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the definition of the technical log as an aircraft document detailing the maintenance status of the aircraft. The document must always be carried whenever the aircraft takes to flight. The document carries information regarding the maintenance performed on the aircraft. Aircraft safety regulations, across the globe, dictate that procedural maintenance should be performed on aircraft within specified periods of time. The operation of undertaking procedural maintenance varies with the classification of aircraft. Upon completion of the maintenance procedure, a record should be kept regarding the activity performed. This record forms the aircraft’s technical log. The record ought to contain all maintenance activities performed on the aircraft. The importance of maintaining this record remains to create a reference point for further maintenance procedures. Through referring to the technical log, an aviation engineer could identify the maintenance proce dures performed on the aircraft. The technical log could essentially assist the maintenance team in assessing and defining the time when an aircraft might require routine maintenance. The information assists operators to predict the usability of an aircraft based on the last known maintenance procedure performed on the aircraft. Â  The certification of technical logs remains the duty of aviation authorities within different countries. These authorities fall under airworthiness authorities recognised internationally. Airworthiness authorities remain the sole certifiers of the information contained in aircrafts’ technical logs. b) How is data recorded, kept where? The data is recorded using automated systems installed within the aircraft. After carrying out maintenance procedures, the engineers undertaking the activities record all function performed on the aircraft. This information remains stored in the technical log. The information recorded indicates the operation undertaken and any new components installed within the aircraft. c) Maintenance schedule: who creates it?, who approves it?, types on maintenance check, flight hours and cycles, work pack, job cards maintenance records. A maintenance schedule could be defined as a timetable for carrying out routine maintenance procedures on aircrafts. Airline operators create the maintenance schedule programmes for their commercial and civil aircrafts, and then present them to the airworthiness authorities for approval (Raoul Castro, p121). Aircraft maintenance checks could be defined as periodic inspections performed on all commercial and civil aircrafts following specified periods of usage. Military aircrafts, however, contain different maintenance programmes specifically designed for special military capabilities. In aircraft maintenance, four types of checks exist namely; check A to D. Checks A and B are light checks while the other two are heavy checks. These checks occur periodically through specified timings. Flight hours could be marked by the number of hours that an aircraft remains in flight. Calculation occurs between the time of taking-off and that of landing. An aircraft cycle could be defined as the taking-off and landing of an aircraft. Each take-off and landing comprises a single cycle (Speciale, p156). Work pack could be defined as a combination of activities to be undertaken by an individual. It forms the basis for supervising a person’s work delivery. A job card, on the other hand, could be defined as a printed card showing details of the duty performed by a person. They clearly define the duties performed by each individual. The documentation detailing the